Is "Culture Fit" actually sabotaging your bottom line? In this episode, Ivan sits down with neuroscience-based researcher Andrea Carter, founder of the Belonging First methodology. We dive into the biological reality of high-performing teams and why traditional EDI metrics often miss the mark.

Learn why "masking" at work causes the prefrontal cortex to shut down and how shifting your focus from "fit" to "belonging" can lead to a 56% increase in job performance and a 50% drop in turnover risk.

Key Takeaways:

• The Biology of Inclusion: How social survival mechanisms in the brain override logic and creativity.

• Beyond the "Soft Side" of HR: Why belonging is a hard metric for ROI and organizational health.

• Measuring What Matters: An introduction to the 5 key indicators of belonging.

• Diverse Teams vs. Innovative Teams: Why diversity alone doesn't guarantee performance—and what’s missing.

Resources Mentioned:

• Andrea’s Assessment Tool: belongingfirst.com

• Substack: andreadcarter.substack.com

• LinkedIn: Andrea D Carter

Notable Quotes:

"When an employee feels they have to mask their true self to fit in, their brain's prefrontal cortex... literally shuts down to prioritize social survival."

About the host: Ivan Palomino

• Sign up for "Simply Human" (Ivan's free monthly email newsletter): https://simplyhuman.substack.com/
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• Visit Ivan Palomino's Blog: https://www.ivanpalomino.net/blog-ivan-palomino
• Follow Ivan Palomino on Twitter: https://x.com/ivanpalomino_
• Follow Ivan Palomino on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivanpalomino.official/

In this episode of Growth Hacking Culture, host Ivan Palomino sits down with Linda M. Perry, a renowned leadership and execution strategist, to explore why high-performing teams suddenly lose momentum. If you are seeing a drop in productivity or a rise in "quiet quitting," the problem likely isn't your software or your systems—it's a Meaning Gap.

Linda uses her unique background as a former federal criminal defense attorney to diagnose the "upstream" psychological blocks that prevent "downstream" execution. She introduces the WHY Operating System™, a framework designed to help leaders understand the biological and neurological drivers that determine how an employee interacts with their work.

Learn how to stop treating symptoms and start addressing the fundamental human need for belonging and agency to turn your team into a self-leading, goal-crushing powerhouse.

• The Science of "Stuckness": Why feeling "stuck" is actually a biological stress response triggered when an employee's core needs for belonging and mattering are not met.

• The Three Execution Gaps: A deep dive into the Clarity Gap (not seeing the connection), the Agency Gap (having no control), and the Values Gap (misalignment with company mission).

• The 9 Whys of Leadership: Understanding how different "Whys"—such as Trust, Better Way, or Contribute—dictate how individuals process information and make decisions.

• Subconscious Roadblocks: How "Shadow Beliefs" formed in early childhood drive 95% of adult leadership decisions and how to debug these internal "system bugs".

• Upstream vs. Downstream Management: Why shifting your focus to upstream psychological causes leads to automated downstream revenue and growth results.

• The "Self-Leading" Team: Practical steps to foster agency so your team can execute at peak performance without constant founder intervention.

• [00:00] – Why talented teams hit the 40% goal plateau.

• [04:20] – The "Meaning Gap": The existential hunger for purpose in the modern workplace.

• [09:15] – From Criminal Law to Corporate Strategy: Diagnosing human nature.

• [14:45] – Deep Dive: Clarity, Agency, and the Values Gaps.

• [21:10] – The WHY Assessment: Discovering your team's unique operating system.

• [27:50] – Rewiring the Brain: How to overcome limiting "Shadow Beliefs".

• [33:30] – Scaling without the Founder: The secret to self-executing teams.

• [39:15] – Final Advice: How to start the journey toward radical self-awareness.

Linda M. Perry is a master of the "Psychology of Execution." After 17 years as a criminal defense attorney, she transitioned into business strategy to help executives and founders solve the human problems that stall revenue. She is a certified WHY Institute professional and a leading voice in human-centric leadership.

Connect with Linda:

• Official Website: lindamperry.com

• LinkedIn: Linda M. Perry

About the host: Ivan Palomino

• Sign up for "Simply Human" (Ivan's free monthly email newsletter): https://simplyhuman.substack.com/
• Follow the Growth Hacking Culture Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growth-hacking-culture/id1610439533
• Visit Ivan Palomino's Blog: https://www.ivanpalomino.net/blog-ivan-palomino
• Follow Ivan Palomino on Twitter: https://x.com/ivanpalomino_
• Follow Ivan Palomino on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivanpalomino.official/

Are your employees truly engaged, or are they part of the 70% just "plotting along" until the end of the day? In this episode of the Growth Hacking Culture Podcast, we dive into a "five-alarm fire" for business leaders: the massive disconnect in the modern hybrid workplace.

Joining us is Dr. Jonathan Thorp, researcher and founder of Quantum Connections, to discuss why the fundamental supervisor-employee relationship is the most undervalued asset in business. We move past the "soft skill" clichés to look at validated data proving that fully connected workforces are 38% more profitable.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The Disengagement Crisis: Why 7 out of 10 employees are currently disengaged and the hidden costs to your productivity.

• The Seen and Heard Framework: Moving beyond "feel-good" factors to measurable relational metrics.

• Why Performance Reviews Fail: The "heritage processes" that actually prevent honest connection between managers and teams.

• Psychological Safety vs. Comfort: Why a healthy culture isn't a "land of pillows," but a place where it is safe to fail and take risks.

• The 3 Layers of Culture: How to align what your company claims to be with what your employees actually believe.

Episode Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Tackling the 70% disengagement rate in the modern workforce.

• 08:15 – The ROI of Connection: Why "seen and heard" teams outperform the competition.

• 15:30 – High-Tech vs. High-Touch: Why AI can’t mirror human validation.

• 22:45 – The 3 Layers of Culture: Aspirational, Actual, and Beliefs.

• 31:10 – Redesigning the performance review for real-time dialogue.

• 38:50 – Practical tools for leaders: Mirroring and making "appointments".

Resources Mentioned:

🔗 Measure Your Workplace Connection: Net Connected Score

👤 Connect with Dr. Jonathan Thorp: LinkedIn

🌐 Learn More: Quantum Connections

This episode is brought to you by Experts Suisses- Swiss Excellence at Your Service.

• Sign up for "Simply Human" (Ivan's free monthly email newsletter): https://simplyhuman.substack.com/
• Follow the Growth Hacking Culture Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growth-hacking-culture/id1610439533
• Visit Ivan Palomino's Blog: https://www.ivanpalomino.net/blog-ivan-palomino
• Follow Ivan Palomino on Twitter: https://x.com/ivanpalomino_
• Follow Ivan Palomino on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivanpalomino.official/